Friday, June 4, 2010

Does Sprint's New 4G EVO Work in NA's Tallest Building?

I recently received a pre-release demo of Sprint's new EVO 4G mobile smartphone. I'd heard the device would be the world's first 4G smartphone, operating on faster data networks available in select markets-- but previously only available to mobile broadband cards and routers.

With a freshly-charged EVO in my pocket (I immediately fell in love with the mobile hotspot application piggy-backing my iPad WiFi to use the EVO's faster data connection), I thought I'd bust out of the Northwest and try another Sprint 4G city: Chicago.

Aside from being the ultimate travel companion (often the built-in 4G was faster than the hotel's own WiFi) with it's giant movie-friendly screen, the coverage was much better than I had expected.

Would it work on top of The Sears Willis Tower, 103 stories up and anchoring the Chicao skyline?

In a word: Yup.

(In a side note: Ever tried to take a photo of a handset screen, while managing a Digital SLR, in front of a bright window, in North America's tallest building, with a fear of heights? Apologies it's hard to read the screen... but there is, in fact, 4G coverage on the Skydeck... enjoy!)

In other news... I did stand out on THE LEDGE. Those photos will follow at some point.